My Leigha and I had a strong bond. Leigha was a spayed female classic tabby who lived to be almost 18 years old...and i wouldnt trade a single day that her and i had together for anything in this world or the next. Leigha was abandoned as a young kitten and i found her starving and very ill on june 29th, 1986 at 6:30PM...i will never forget how i just HAD to go out suddenly that warm summer evening so long ago. it was like something was pulling me outside, making me go out. as i walked past a bush outside in the parking lot of my NO PET apt building i heard a faint cry from the bush...i told whomever was in the bush that..'i can hear you but i cant see you..'. that was when these huge yellow eyes came out and looked into my own eyes for the first time. she was VERY sick, undernourished to the point of not being able to walk without difficulty and very dirty.........it was truely love at first site. how could i just leave her and walk away? i took her back into my apt and fed her the only thing i had at the time...homemade canned salmon, and amoxicillian(to help with her upper respitory infection she had that was making breathing difficult)...under my love and attentions she soon flourished, and grew into one of the most beautiful(and spoiled:D) cats ive ever seen. My baby girl had a loving and happy life for the next 11 years and she proved herself to be special in so many ways. when she was 12 she was diagnosed with feline diabetes mellitus and was insulin dependant for exactly 2 years...and then one day just as suddenly was no longer diabetic. my joy at her recovery was short lived as she soon showed signs of being sick again....this time with another endocrine illness known as (feline)Graves Disease(a form of hyperthyroidism). Leigha was treated for the next few years with many different drugs(mostly cortisone types)before she was correctly diagnosed with Graves Disease. this lack of proper diagnosis led to Leigha not recieveing the drugs she needed so badly to live a healthy life, and her last year of life was a difficult one for her and me both. i still wouldnt trade a moment of it for anything. My sweet lil Leigha was put to sleep at 4:40PM on December 31st, 2003 and this was the single most agonizing decision of my life to date. i will love her forever and always...sleep well, my lil bug-bug.....Mama loves you and misses you terribly*kiss*